The bright new era at Goodison Park had a sluggish opening 45 minutes. Then, just as the tannoy announcer reported 'One extra minute', Sandro Ramirez fed Daniel Calvert-Lewin, whose cross was met with a terrific jump and header from Wayne Rooney. Cue bedlam.
Rooney never going to be denied the headlines on a first Premier League appearance for his boyhood club for 13 years. After all, he's been writing his own scripts since he announced himself to the world on the same ground with a goal against Arsenal aged 16.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes didn't even bother to namecheck him in describing the winner. 'You know who was always going to be part of the story and that's how it panned out,' he grimaced.
MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND LEAGUE TABLE
Everton (3-5-2): Pickford 6.5; Keane 7, Jagielka 7, Williams 5.5 (Martina 45 6); Calvert-Lewin 6.5, Schneiderlin 7 Gueye 7.5, Klaasen 6 (Davies 60 6), Baines 6; Rooney 7, Ramirez 6.5 (Mirallas 77 6)
Subs unused: Stekelenburg, Besic, Holgate, Lookman
Goal: Rooney 45
Booked: Martina
Stoke City (3-4-3): Butland 7; Cameron 7, Shawcross 6.5, Zouma 7; Diouf 6.5, Fletcher 6, Allen 6, Pieters 6.5; Shaqiri 6, Berahino 6 (Chouplo-Moting 72 6.5), Bojan 5.5 (Crouch 72 6)
Subs unused: Grant, Johnson, Tymon, Adam, Sobhi
Booked: Allen
Referee: Neil Swarbrick 7
Attendance: 39,045
Season at glance
Everton (3-5-2): Pickford 6.5; Keane 7, Jagielka 7, Williams 5.5 (Martina 45 6); Calvert-Lewin 6.5, Schneiderlin 7 Gueye 7.5, Klaasen 6 (Davies 60 6), Baines 6; Rooney 7, Ramirez 6.5 (Mirallas 77 6)
Subs unused: Stekelenburg, Besic, Holgate, Lookman
Goal: Rooney 45
Booked: Martina
Stoke City (3-4-3): Butland 7; Cameron 7, Shawcross 6.5, Zouma 7; Diouf 6.5, Fletcher 6, Allen 6, Pieters 6.5; Shaqiri 6, Berahino 6 (Chouplo-Moting 72 6.5), Bojan 5.5 (Crouch 72 6)
Subs unused: Grant, Johnson, Tymon, Adam, Sobhi
Booked: Allen
Referee: Neil Swarbrick 7
Attendance: 39,045
Season at glance
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Team P GD Pts 1 Huddersfield Town 1 3 3 2 Manchester City 1 2 3 3 Arsenal 1 1 3 4 Burnley 1 1 3 5 Everton 1 1 3 6 West Bromwich Albion 1 1 3 7 Liverpool 1 0 1 8 Watford 1 0 1 9 Southampton 1 0 1 10 Swansea City 1 0 1 11 Manchester United 0 0 0 12 Newcastle United 0 0 0 13 Tottenham Hotspur 0 0 0 14 West Ham United 0 0 0 15 Leicester City 1 -1 0 16 Chelsea 1 -1 0 17 Bournemouth 1 -1 0 18 Stoke City 1 -1 0 19 Brighton and Hove Albion 1 -2 0 20 Crystal Palace 1 -3 0
Wayne Rooney's stunning goal on return
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